Brand Protection is increasingly an issue for advertisers, brands and web site owners. Cybercriminals continue to abuse legitimate brands through a combination of tactics including forged and spoofed email, look-a-like domains, phishing sites and brand jacking through fraudulent and malicious mobile applications. With the introduction of the new gTLD domains, brand protection is a growing area of concern for brands owners and consumers alike.

Data Privacy Day (DpD) is an international event held every January 28 to raise awareness and promote data privacy education. Since 2009, OTA has taken a leadership role hosting Town Hall events and educational webinars to help businesses enhance their data protection and be prepared for a data breach incident.

Identity theft is a growing problem for consumers, businesses and the entire industry. Efforts include working with leading law enforcement organizations including U.S. Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation and State Attorney General Offices to fight Identity Theft. Working with the Identity Theft Council, State Better Business Bureaus and other organizations, OTA works to develop best practices to aid in the prevention, detection, notification and remediation to those individuals and businesses who have been victimized by identity theft.

OTA works through the public and private sectors to advance internet governance, helping to assure the free flow of information, transparency, accontability and balanced practices to enhance online trust. Efforts include working with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the ICANN Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC), U.S. Department of Commerce, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), Article 29 Working Group, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and other organizations.

The Online Trust and Honor Roll Audit is a comprehensive evaluation of a site's and mobile applications best practices in brand and consumer protection, security and privacy. Through this recognition program OTA recognizes "North Stars" who demonstrate a commitment to consumer protection and support meaningful self-regulation. Through a composite weighted scoring including over two-dozen data points, sites which achieve a score of 80% or greater are named to the Honor Roll.

Privacy is the foundation of online trust and confidence in the sites one visits, the mobile applications used and the interaction with online services. OTA supports the need for user control, discoverabilty and transparency, while promoting the benefits they receive from data driven marketing and ad supported services. OTA promotes the need to move from a compliance mind-set on data collection, retention and usage, to one of stewardship. OTA works across the ecosystem to promote best practices including tools and technologies allowing users the ability to opt-out of third-party data collection, while under-scoring the value exchange consumers receive from ad supported sites and services.

Public Policy is a global issue impacting consumer and industry addressing the innovation, threats and challenges related to data protection, privacy, security and identity theft. OTA supports multi-stakeholder efforts to promote best practices, self-regulation and safe harbor to promote innovation. Concurrently OTA and our members work with legislators to help shape legislation and regulation to enhance online trust and the long-term vitality of online services.

As the internet flourishes the threats from fraudulent businesses, organized crime and State-Sponsored actors underscores the importance of taking a holistic "Security by Design" approach . OTA works through the standards community and public and private sectors to advance best practices including data governance, site security, breach response planning and threat intelligence sharing. Key areas of focus include the integrity of online advertising and content publishing, supply chain management, cloud services and critical infrastructure.

An exclusive invitation-only Roundtable event will review the impact of the latest monitoring tools and introduction of wearable tech in the workplace as well as the tools available for transferring HR data across borders including APEC, BCRs and EU Safe Harbor. The session will conclude by sharing best practices for engaging your employees in data privacy management.

In a time when email is key to driving commerce and delivering an outstanding customer experience, securing your email channel from cyberattacks is more critical than ever. Please join us for an educational afternoon with your industry peers, the Agari leadership team, and special guest experts to learn how you can eliminate brand abuse and prevent criminals from spoofing your email domains

One year on from the publication of the APEC-EU referential, this third Webinar in the TRUSTe 2015 Privacy Insight Series will review the latest developments with APEC Cross Border Privacy Rules (CBPR), Binding Corporate Rules (BCR) and the EU Safe Harbor negotiations. Register now to hear from a panel of experts who have either been closely involved in working towards greater interoperability of these different frameworks or have first-hand experience of taking their company through the process.

We are on the brink of a major shift in how marketing technologies and digital experiences are optimized. Ensighten’s open platform is revolutionizing digital marketing by empowering brands to collect, own and act on their customer data everywhere. The Ensighten user conference – AGILITY – will attract over 800 world-class marketers to the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.

As more and more users throughout the world are enticed by free online services, it is a fact they do not consider what they are trading off in this exchange. This point was illustrated in the movie "The Kingsman: The Secret Service". Without disclosing too much of the movie, the villain played by Samuel L. Jackson is an internet billionaire known for his philanthropy. He announces a giveaway of SIM cards, granting free cellular and Internet access to everyone around the world.

The Identity Theft Council would like you to join us in supporting 100 Cities in 100 Days – a unique campaign to educate and engage consumers and communities about issues like identity theft, cyber safety, and privacy. Nearly 40 cities and communities have already signed up, and participating communities can host a seminar, webinar, or school presentation, distribute education materials, share our message on social media,

Last Friday I had the privilege to attend the White House Cybersecurity & Consumer Protection Summit, hosted at Stanford University. Attendees included CEO's of leading organizations ranging from American Express, AIG, Intel, Bank of America, MasterCard, to Kaiser Permante, PayPal, QVC, Walgreens and the Center of Democracy & Technology. Key messages delivered through the day included the importance of government – private sector collaboration, the sharing of threat data with the government and government sharing the data back to the business community.

OTA’s 2015 Data Privacy & Protection Day Town Halls attracted over 500 attendees, including leading experts in public policy, privacy and security. In each city, a fireside chat with an FTC Commissioner kicked off each Town Hall including Commissioner McSweeney with OTA President Craig Spiezle in Silicon Valley, followed by Commissioners Ohlhausen and Brill in NYC and DC respectively. View the Video Highlights